Elder likes Madison’s landscapes and convenience

David and Susan Elder enjoy hiking Rainbow Mountain and walking on Madison’s greenways. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – To Susan Elder, Madison is a beautiful location, with its rolling hills, trees and plants.

Her hometown, Denison, Texas, and Madison are similar demographically. “But where else on this planet can you live in the land of rocket scientists?” she said.

She and husband David hike Rainbow Mountain and walk Indian Creek Greenway often with their dogs, “AKA ‘the girls,’ Lucy and Rooby.”

The Elders and their neighbors are close-knit and have block get-togethers twice each year.

She also appreciates her church home, Asbury United Methodist. “I love that Asbury, Kroger, the library, La Placita, Gates Cleaners and TJ Maxx are all five minutes away,” she said. “We may fuss about the traffic, but it’s nothing like Dallas traffic jams.”

She also worked for a consulting firm with long-term assignments in Portland, Maine, Washington D.C. and Kansas City, Mo.

“I initially moved to Huntsville from Texas in 1990. I moved back to Texas in 1999, thinking Huntsville/Madison had been nice, but I’d probably never see it again,” Elder said.

However, Elder’s friends filled her going-away weekend with her local activities — biking to movies. Elder was surprised by “a kiss from a dear friend and the confession he had fallen in love with me. I moved back to Madison in 2000 to marry my best friend and soulmate, David Elder,” she said.

She describes David as the “best man on Earth, Eagle Scout, retired rocket scientist.”

“I’m blessed with the best children I never had,” she said. Her stepchildren are Zach Elder, Auburn University student; Holly Bratton and husband Ron of Muscle Shoals and their sons, Blake and Brodie; and Tracy Hardage and husband Jonathan of Owens Crossroads and daughter Madison.

Susan works as Madison site coordinator for Christian Women’s Job Corps of Madison County, which offers free, faith-based education for women in need (cwjc.net).

“I was raised by my grandparents and had a meager childhood. I followed academic scholarships” to Grayson County College and Tarrant County Junior College in Texas; University of Alabama in Huntsville; and Athens State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems.

Susan’s hobbies include Bible study, cooking, outdoor activities, construction projects at their lake house and photography. Her music taste ranges from country to classical.